Islamic Religious Teachers as Bridge-Builders in Schools in Austria

Introduction

As a female migrant, a Muslim mother of three children (twenty-two, eighteen, and sixteen years old, born and grown up in Austria), a former Islamic religious teacher and native Arabic teacher, and, since 2012, a supervisor for Islamic religious education in Lower Austria, I deal again and again with the concerns of children and teenagers from Muslim families. I am not an expert in relation to the question of migration, but I see myself as a learner, one who understands and supports children and teenagers. A great number of Muslim children and teenagers face difficulties in the majority Austrian society. The striking reasons for these difficulties are, on the one hand, the rigid educational style of parents who use traditional behavior patterns of their home country without taking into account the context in which they live, and, on the other hand, the stigmatization faced at school and in society. Therefore, Islamic religious education in Austria seeks to help these children and teenagers to develop an identity that is not between, but from, both cultures.

Historical Background about Islamic Religious Education in Austria

Due to the exceptional legal status of Islam in Austria—especially in comparison with other European countries—Muslims enjoy some important rights. In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy annexed the largest part of the Muslim Bosnia-Herzegovina. There were about 700,000 Bosnians at that time. They served in the army and the Imperial Guard; imams served as military chaplains, and their provisions in the military were according to Islamic instructions. Therefore, the Danube-Monarchy officially acknowledged Islam in 1912 in the so-called "Islam Law" that was reformed and further developed in 2015. In the 1960's the number of Muslims in Austria increased due to the large number of immigrants who came mainly from Turkey and the former Yugoslavia.

In 1979 the Islamic Religious Authority in Austria—Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich (IGGÖ)—was established as a statutory corporation. It represents the official administration of religious matters for Muslims living in Austria. The organization functions as a bridge among state institutions, civil society, and the Muslim community. One of the key responsibilities of the IGGÖ is to provide for Islamic education in public schools. This program, established in 1982, is a cooperation between the IGGÖ and the Austrian Ministry of Education. The IGGÖ takes care of the content of the lessons (curriculum, books, and other teaching materials) and also chooses and trains the teachers.

Soon, Muslims discovered that the needs of their children and teenagers in Austria could not be met without their own institutions in Austria, nor by recruiting religious teachers from abroad. Hence, opportunities for the instruction of Islamic religious teachers were created, including the Islamic Religious Academy IRPA and the Islamic Religious Faculty at the universities of Vienna and Innsbruck. The Islamic religious lessons at schools are open to all Muslim pupils (Sunna and Shia). Currently, more than 70,000 pupils attend these lessons, taught by about 700 teachers.

The Aims of Islamic Religious Education in Austria

Islamic religious education in Austria has two primary aims: (1) to enable children and adolescents to have an authentic and reliable knowledge and deep understanding of their own religion, while giving them some kind of spiritual orientation; and (2) to build up an attitude of receptiveness and openness for other cultures and religions, taking into consideration the pluralistic society in which the children are growing. To achieve these goals, we train Islamic religious teachers both as teachers and especially as bridge-builders among schools, parents, and communities, because the Islamic teachers know best how the educational institution works. At the same time, they understand the norms, narratives, and social dynamics of the community.

Children and adolescents from Muslim families are increasingly caught in the tension between two cultures—the culture of the majority society and the culture of their parents or community. The problem is that every culture expects absolute conformism. It is still an obstacle for many adolescents to...